Inside feed stoker



May 6, 1930. N. M. LOWER Er AL INSIDE FEED STOKER Original Filed Jan. 8, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l n v K yfiv /w i?. U Y

May 6, 1930. N. M. Lowl-:R ET AL 1,757,581

INSIDE FEED sToKER Original Filed Jan. 8. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 6, 1930.' N M OWER`ET AL INSIDE vFEED STOKER Original Filed Jan- 8. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 )Mm/LM. Lowr.

Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STATES NATHAN M. LOWER, DAVID '.F. CRAWFORD, AND EDWIN ARCHER TURNER, O F PITTS- DURCH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 THE STANDARD STOKER COMPANY INC., 0F NEW YORK N. Y., A coRroRATIoN OEDELAWARE INSIDE FEED sroKER Application led .'l'anuaryl 8, 1926, Serial No. 79,977. Renewed March 22, 19230.v i

This invention relates-tostoker mechanism and more particularlyto'stokers of theunderfeed type.

One of the objects oftlre'lvention is the provision of an underfeedfstoker in which fuel is delivered at a plurality of points in the rear portion of the reboxfrom which it is distributed overfthe grates,

Another object' of the invention is the pro'- vision of a conveyer havingcoriduits leading therefrom to the rebox together witha new and improved conveyer member forforcing fuel through said conduits.

A further object ofthe inventionis'the provision of an underfeed stoker having one vdesignates a locomotive having the backhead 11, redoor opening 12, firebox 13 and grates 14 therein,` all of which `are of the usual or "any well known construction.l The tender or more fuel conduits for delivering fuel'toff'is'- shown at 15 and comprises .a fuel tank 16 the rebox above the grates, with new and improved means for cooling the delivery en d of said conduits.

Another object of the invention is the'pro-` vision of a newand improved Stoker conveyer having the operating mechanism mounted on the tender.,

A still further object of the invention is r the provision of a new and improved underfeed Stoker that is cheap to manufacture, easily assembled, that will occupy a minimum amount of space on the locomotive, that is efficient in operation, rugged, durable, light in weight, composed of few movigparts, and that is suiciently flexible to accommodate the relative angular movements between the locomotive and tender, at all times.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken fin connection with the accompanying drawings, inswhiclr Fig. 1 'is a vertical section of a portion of f a locomotive and, tender therefor, showing the stoker mechanism in `.position'thereong Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a portion of the rear end of a locomotive on the line 2-'2 of Fig. 1;

Fig.. 3 is a section on line 3-'3 of Fig. '2, with parts broken away.;

Fig. 4 is a view somewhat 'similar to Fig. 2 showing a modifi-ed form of construction;

Fig. 5 lis a similar view showing a still further modified form of stoker construction;

hav-ingl the usual elongated opening 17 in its bottom wall. i

VThe fuel is transferred from the tender to the locomotive by a suitable conveyer. As shown, the conveyercomprises front and rear sections. 18 and 19 respectively. The rear portion. of the conveyer terminates in a trough 21 located beneath the opening 17 for receiving the fuel from the tank 16. The front and rear sections areconnected together -by auniversal joint 22 which permits of the necessary relative angular movement between f the locomotive and tender durmg thelr travel around curves and the like.

Theconveyer. screwis operated from` its rear as by a motor 27 located beneath the deck of the tender. Owing to 'therestricted space, asmall fQLllr-cylinder engine having the common intake"`and` exhaust ports -28 and 29, is

employed, the piping beingl omitted on thev drawing for the sake of clearness. The conshaft by a telescopic .connection 31, a set of reducing gearing being interposed if necessary or desirable.

f The front end of the casing is provided with vv eyer vscrew is connectedto the engine crankt A conveyer screw, which may-comprlse thel laterally extending orA branch conduits '32 and 33' to which are detachably connected thev elevator casings orconduits 35 and 36v as by means ofthe bolts 37. The casings extend upward through the grates inthe rear corners of the firebox. They may be removed by releasing them and lifting them upward` into the iirebox after which they may be removed through the firedoor opening if necessary or desirable.

The upper ends of the elevator casings extend upward through the .fuel bed and unless protected they will soon be destroyed by' the intense heat. Suitable means are provided for shielding them-from this heat. As shown they are protected by water pipes. Preferably a series of pipes 38.are employed. Each pipe -extends .about the exposed'side of the upper end of an elevator casing and has its endssecured in the walls' of the rebox, one end`V being at a: higher elevation than .the other whereby a free circulation of the water from the water leg of the'boiler is insured. The up er ends of the elevator cas ings are prefera ly provided with flanges 39 which extend over the top of the uppermost' 'l Water pipe 38.

In order to distribute the fuel lover the grates, a pair of nozzle blocks 41 are-provided. The blocks are located in the corners of the iirebox in rear of the elevator cas. ings and the blastfrom each is directly rearlward .and toward the center ofthe firebox.

They are supplied withsteam through'the pipes 42 whichextend upwardly in the cor- 'ners of the rebox in rear of the casings whereby they are protected from the heat of` the furnace.

The front end of the conveyer ,screw extends across the branch or laterally extending'conduitsand is preferably, though not necessarily, provided witha double flight 43 and 44 whereby the fuel is evenly divided between the two branches- The flights43 and 44 may be extended forwardly parallel with kthe axis of the conveyer at their forward ends to form the paddles 60 and 70 for preventing packing of the fuel between -the end of the conveyer' and the wall ofthe casing.

In the operation of the device, fuel is conducted forwardly by the conveyer and forced laterally and upwardly through the elevator casings. As it boils up above the upper ends of the casings it is projected by steam blasts ferred embodiments of this invention, it .will

' 55 be seen that the elevator casing or conduits 35 and 36 extend into thev rebox a substantial distance above the grates thereof to obtain the necessary height from which the fuel can be scattered over the fire bed in aerial paths by the blast from the nozzle block, 41, and that the forward ends of the conduits which are exposed to the intense heat of the burning fuel are protected by water cooling means, which as shown is in the form of a.y

series of pipes, but may be of any construction that provides a protecting wall having a circulation of fiuidjtherein for' the purpose heretofore described.. The use of the cooling means or protecting wall is equally applicable to other forms of stoking apparatus which provides onl one elevating' conduit projectinginto the rebox.

The form of the device shown in Fig. 4 differs from that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 in that the elevator casings 45 and 450 do not extend above the grates 14. The openings in the nozzle 46 are inclined slightly upwardly in order to project the fuel over the firebed.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 5 v

the elevator casings 47 and 48 terminate at the grates as in Fig. 4. The nozzles 49, how'- 'ever, are located at adistance above the upper end of said casings whereby a supply of fuel is maintained in the rear corners of the lirebox, none of the fuel being projected forwardly by the blast from said nozzle until it is built up in front of the nozzle.

If desired the pipes 51 for supplying steam to the distributor nozzles 47 extends throughl the backhead of the locomotive, as clearly disclosed in Fig. 5.

The j oint22 in the conveyer is located adj acent to the coupling 50 between the locomotive and the tender whereby the front end of the conveyer will have a minimum movement relative to the tender in making curves. The motor 27 for operating the conveyer bein carried by the tenderrelieves the engine o this additional weight.`

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are.shown la modified form of the device in which the transfer conduits 52 and 53 extend forwardly from the conveyor casing 54 and diverge laterally. They merge into a rearward extension 55 to which the connectingmember 56 is rigidly secured. The forward end of the conveyor 54 hasa convex outer surface which is pivoted in the connectingV member 56 in the usual manner. Y

The transfer conduits 52 and 53 have their forward ends-extending upwardly in a plane transversely to the axis of the conveyor and projecting through the grates 14 adjacent to the back wall 11 of the firebox 13. These upwardly extending lends 57 and 58 may be fiush' with, or extend above, the grates as in the previous construction. Wherethey extend above the grates as shown in Fig. 8 the exposed ends are protected'by tvhe'water tubes as in the construction describedv above. The

nozzles 59 are arranged in the same manner as the blocks 41 described above and perform the same function. f

The conveyor casing 54 is provided with' a conveyor screw 61 which is adapted to transfer fuel from the tender and force thesame inl a continuous stream through each conduit 52 and 53 into the fireboxwhere it is distributed by blasts from the nozzles over the grates.

` In order to properly divide the fuel delivered by the conveyor to the transfer conduits 52 and 53 a Adivider member 62 is mounted in theextension 55 to swing about a o vertical pivot member 63. The pivotmem'- ber 63 is journaled in the extension 55 and is provided with an arm 64 having an arcuate 4slot 65 therein through which a pin, tapped in the extension, extends and^`is adapted to hold the plate and with'it the divider member 66 2o in adjusted position for controlling the proportionate amount of fuel delivered to each conduit.

In the operation of the device, the screw 61 conveys the fuel forwardly from the tender and forces the same forwardly through the 4. Inoombiootioo, locomotive hoviog o .irebox, a fuel conduit having its forward y end extending into said firebox a substantial `protecting the forward end of said conduit from the heat generated in said irebox. In testimony whereof we ailix our signa- NATHAN M. LOWER. DAVID F. CRAWFORD. EDWINARCI-IER TURNER.

.tures conduits into the irebox in continuous or unbroken streams.

' It is thought from the foregoing taken in l 4 connection with the accompanying drawings that the construction and operation of our device will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that various changes in size, shape, roportion and details of construction may e made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In combination, a locomotive having a iirebox, a tender,.a fuel conveyor for transferring fuel from said tender to said locowithin a corner of the box, means for forcingv I .fuel through the conduit, and means for protecting the conduit from the furnace heat, comprising a conduit havin its ends in communication withvthe cham ers of adjacent yfirebox walls. j y

3. In a furnace having a irebox with hollow walls, a fuel delivery conduit located within a corner of the box, means for forcing j fuel through the conduit, means for protecting the condxuit from the furnace heat, comprisin a plurality of pipeshaving their ends at di erent altitudesand connected res ectively with the chambers of adjacent fire ox e5 walls. 

